Do You Wish It Was Me?
by LittleMissPerfect1
Summary: Leaping to its feet, they meet halfway in the middle of the room, its barks of joy much unlike the yowls it had been emitting minutes before, its ears perked straight up, its eyes bright with happiness.


A full moon hanging in the midnight sky lit up the Hogwarts grounds nearly as well as the sun itself. The only shelter one would have from view is among the pitchblack shadows of the trees scattered from the stone walls of the castle to the looming Forbidden Forest beyond. From one of these shadows, a sudden flash of movement appears before vanishing again within another nearby shadow. A moment later, it emerges once more.

A fox. But this is no ordinary animal. Its fur is a beautiful shade of red, shiny and shaggier than normal. Its eyes are brilliant emeralds glimmering in the moonlight. And a school bag is strapped to its back.

As the creature makes its way stealthily across the grass, it approaches the Whomping Willow. Glancing from side to side to ensure it has not been observed, the fox quickly slides up to the trunk of the great tree and gently presses its right paw onto a large knot there. Then, the animal is gone.

Meanwhile, the Shrieking Shack nearby is resonating with howls of pain. Most of the people in town are soundly asleep and merely turn over in their beds, burying themselves deeper within the safety of their covers. The few who happen to be awake exchange uneasy looks and go about their business wearily, accustomed to this occasional onslaught of ghastly behavior. Even after six years, they have remained unaware of the true nature of this occurrence: the monthly transformation of a werewolf.

The sounds die off and the agonizing change is finally complete. The poor thing settles into a corner of the room, gently laying its head on its large paws and waiting. It sighs deeply and its great eyes are full of misery. Despite its sharp claws and even sharper teeth, one might be inclined to feel quite sorry for this dismal being.

In the next moment, the wolf experiences an entirely different transformation when the fox appears in the doorway. Leaping to its feet, they meet halfway in the middle of the room, its barks of joy much unlike the yowls it had been emitting minutes before, its ears perked straight up, its eyes bright with happiness.

The fox leaps and bounds around the wolf in greeting and then, in what seems to be one swift movement, gracefully converts into a young human girl sitting cross legged on the floor. Like her fox form, she has lengthy red hair and dazzling green eyes. "Hello, Remus! Yes, I'm happy to see you, too," giggles Lily Evans, scratching the supposedly dangerous monster behind the ears as he licks her face and wags his tail like an overexcited puppy.

Lily shrugs the school bag off her shoulder and reaches inside while Remus watches anxiously. "Well, I couldn't fit a twenty-pound bag of dog food suitable for your appetite in here…" she teases him, and he snorts playfully at her. She pulls out a handful of chocolate bars, his favorite treat, and begins to unwrap one for him. As her bag slumps to the floor, something slips out and clatters onto the floor.

Temporarily distracted from the chocolate, Remus sniffs at the mysterious item. Lily blushes and picks it up by its gleaming golden chain, dangling it between them like a bad omen. It is a heart shaped locket featuring an impressively detailed engraving of the head of a stag. "James made it for me today in Transfiguration," Lily explains quietly. She holds out a piece of the chocolate for him with the other hand, but he simply stares back at her, waiting for the speech he already knows is coming.

"Alright, I guess we have to do this now," Lily sighs, her eyes wandering anywhere in the room, clearly avoiding Remus's dark canine ones. "You know, it's almost the end of our seventh year. We're all going to be leaving Hogwarts and going our separate ways. What am I going to do? I can't go back to my family…" Remus nods his wolf head with understanding. Lily clears her throat and continues, "James knows what he wants to do. James can take care of me. He… He asked me to marry him, Remy." Upon spitting out this new information, she keeps her eyes locked on the piece of jewelry in her lap, turning it over and over in her hands.

Remus really isn't all that surprised at this development, for he had seen all the signs. Besides, his best friend had been smitten with the beauty before him for ages. Almost as long as Remus himself had been. However, this knowledge doesn't make it any easier for him to prevent the sharp pang of jealousy that pounced on his heart, going in for the kill.

Lily finally tears her eyes away from the gold and braves a glance in his direction. "He loves me," she whispers, sounding like she was attempting to convince herself more than anything else. Remus wags his tail and gently licks her face, and Lily smiles sadly. "I care about you, too, Remy. But… I don't love you. I think I could've loved you, but for some reason, I just don't." Once again, Remus clumsily nods his head as if he understands perfectly; his wilted ears and lightless eyes say otherwise.

With nothing more to say, Lily repacks her bag and slings it over her shoulder. After placing a tender kiss on the top of his furry head, she swiftly becomes the fox again. Remus returns to his corner, giving up any pretense of cheerfulness as he sorrowfully watches her bushy red tail disappear down the dark tunnel back to the Hogwarts grounds.

Not until she is back beneath the Whomping Willow does the fox allow herself to weep.


End file.
